Wednesday, March 13, 2019

1618: Pahlmeyer Wine Dinner

1618 Seafood Grill is one of my favorite restaurants in Greensboro. They recently hosted a wine dinner featuring Pahlmeyer wines from Napa Valley in California. I was unfamiliar with this winery, but let's be honest, I'm pretty obsessed with wines from Napa, and the food at 1618 is always exceptional. I was expecting a delicious and unforgettable evening, and they delivered.

Perfectly fried oyster

1618 does one of the best renditions of fried oysters in the entire Triad, and the first course featured a perfectly crispy and salty Fried Oyster with a Goat Lady Goat Cheese Fondue and Fresh Herb Salsa. It might have been my favorite dish of the night, and I would have eaten ten of these. The richness of the goat cheese fondue, the savoriness of the oyster and the acidity of the salsa made for a perfectly balanced and composed bite. This was paired with a 2017 Jayson Sauvignon Blanc, which was thankfully not too grapefruit-forward, a complaint I usually have with Sauv Blancs. We were off to a great start.

Duo of crab cake and short rib

One of the many things I love about 1618 is their over-the-top creativity with each dish, and I think our second course perfectly encapsulated that: duo of Crab Cake and Barbecued Beef Short Rib with Mango, Pancetta, Cilantro and Mascarpone. That sentence contains so many of my favorite words and ingredients! The crab cake had no filler - it was straight crab, which is how they all should be - and the short rib was super tender. The mango and cilantro brightened up the dish, and pancetta makes everything better. This course was paired with a duo (get it?) of a buttery 2016 Wayfarer Estate Chardonnay and a smooth 2014 Wayfarer Estate Pinot Noir. They each enhanced the dish in their own lovely way.

Duck breast with sweet potato pan sauce

We were offered beautiful Asian flavors in the third course: Hoisin and Plum-Glazed Duck Breast with Baby Corn, Broccolini, Crispy Duck Egg and Sweet Potato Pan Sauce. This dish was all about that crazy delicious sweet potato pan sauce! The duck was tender and the vegetables were crisp, and it was a stunning visual to pop the duck egg yolk and watch it drip down the meat and mix with the pan sauce. This dish was paired with a 2016 Jayson Red Blend and a 2015 Pahlmeyer Merlot. It was really fun to compare these wines with the dish - the blander of the two wines really opened up with the dish, while the spicier, more robust wine was overwhelmed with the flavors of the dish. Dueling wine tastings are so much fun!

Wagyu beef with foie gras and bordelaise

If you're wondering how it's possible to eat this much in one sitting, know that the servings were appropriately sized and the courses were well-paced. Thank goodness, because we had one more large course to go: Wagyu Beef and Foie Gras paired with a Portabella Mushroom stuffed with Wagyu Tartare and Blackberry Compote, and finished with a Bordelaise Sauce. Again, so many of my favorite words. This is the ideal steakhouse dish, and once again, it was all about the sauce. Love or hate foie gras, if it's going to have a place, it's atop perfectly seared Wagyu beef. I did appreciate the sweet acidity of the blackberry compote to brighten the dish. We had one final wine comparison, and these were the best (and most expensive, not surprisingly!) of the bunch. Both the 2014 and 2015 Pahlmeyer Proprietary Reds were fabulous with this dish. Proprietary wines are Cabernet-heavy blends. No wonder I loved them.

All the wine!!!

We finished the meal with a decadent Chocolate Torte. Readers, you may recall that I don't love chocolate (I know, I know) but this surprisingly wasn't too dark or rich, and it was actually a nice end to the meal. I Ubered home and began planning my next trip to Napa. Or at least 1618.

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About Me

Movies and food are two of my biggest passions. For my New Year’s resolution in 2012, I decided to start this blog, reviewing “Cuisine and Screen.”
I love an artsy independent film as much as a summer blockbuster, and “Award Show Season” is my favorite time of year (don’t try calling me the night of the Golden Globes, SAGs or the Oscars.) I miss strolling the aisles of video stores (RIP) and finding gems I missed at the theatres, hidden among thousands of DVDs. I'm excited to write about new movies as well as ones I’ve just seen for the first time.
My Food Network addiction has led to many triumphs (and disasters) in the kitchen. So instead of a recipe blog, I decided to chronicle as many restaurant experiences as my wallet permits.
I hope you find this blog entertaining and informative, and that it gives you some suggestions for your next movie night or special dinner out!